Although prosthetic limbs have been around for centuries, several problems are often experienced by amputees making use of a traditional socket attachment. These include but are not limited to: dermatological problems, and a limited range of motion. A prosthesis that does not clamp around the residual limb of the amputee but is anchored directly to the skeleton avoids socket-related problems and improves prosthesis use and quality of life substantially.
A way in which this is achieved is through osseointegration, which is described as a permanent integration between bone and a titanium implant. An extension component from the implant protrudes the skin of the patient and can be connected to the prosthesis directly, providing a skeleton-anchored attachment of the prosthetic limb. This technique is well-established in dental implants and more recently in limb amputees using systems like the OPRA (Osseointegrated Prostheses for the Rehabilitation of Amputees) Implant System.
Upper extremity amputees with an amputation below the elbow, also known as trans-radial amputation (TRA) patients, have two implants in the residual limb: one implant in the radius bone and one implant in the ulna bone. To simplify the connection of a prosthesis, an attachment device may be used as an intermediate device connecting the prosthesis to the limb, where the attachment device is connected to skeleton-anchored implants.
Due to the varying and complex anatomy of the forearm bones and due to the varying level of amputation among patients, an attachment device should be able to connect to all of these different configurations of implants and still fulfill its function. Accordingly, there is a need for an adjustable attachment device for attaching a prosthetic limb to a forearm.